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TWELVE SHORT INSTRUCTIONS 
(ON MY DUTY TOWARDS GOD 



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LIBRAtiY OF CONGRESS, 



Chap.. Copyright No. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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TWELVE SHORT INSTRUCTIONS ON 
"MY DUTY TOWARDS GOD" 



/ 



JULIET C. SMITH 

Author of "Echoes from the Psalter" 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 

GEORGE H. McGREW, D.D. 



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New York 
THOMAS WHITTAKER 

2-3 BIBLE HOUSE 






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The tisR^v 
of (SotfftkBSS 

WASHINGTON 



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Copyright, 1896 
Ey THOMAS WHITTAKER 



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BURR PRINTING HOUSE, 






ynVl3 outv. towaros <Soo is to believe in bim, 
1 liJ to fear bim, ano to love bim witb all 
mv. beart, witb all mv. mino, witb all m<t> soul, 
ano witb all mv. strengtb : "Co worsbip bim, to 
give bim tbanfcs ; to put mv wbole trust in bim, 
to call upon bim, to bonour bis bolv. name anb 
bis wort> : anb to serve bim trulv. all tbe oa^s of 
mv. life. 



INTRODUCTION. 



This little book is meant to 
serve as a mint for recoining the 
well-worn truths which the Cate- 
chism states about our Duty to 
God. It is written in a plain way, 
because it was intended chiefly for 
the older pupils in our Sunday 
Schools, with whom the gifted 
author has had a large experi- 
ence. At the same time, it 
should not fail to be of use to 
others, by calling attention to the 
hidden richness in this neglected 
part of the Catechism. The em- 
phasis which in our time is laid 
upon our duty to our fellow-men 
is likely to obscure our first duty 
to God, unless the latter is re- 
peatedly urged. 



Untro&uctlon 



The teaching of this book will 
be found to be sound and in ac- 
cord with the Catholic Faith. 
My prayer is that it may serve 
to impress upon all who read if 
the fact that the first and great 
commandment is to love God, 
and that he who keeps this law 
cannot fail to love Man also. 

George H. McGrew. 

St. Bartholomew's Parish House, 
New York, Epiphany, 1897 



CONTENTS. 



iR§ EJuts 'Covvarfcs <5o&, is 

I. — To Believe in Him 

II.— To Fear Him. 

III.— To Love Him With All My 
Heart .... 

IV.— To Love Him With All My 
Mind . 

V.— To Love Him With All My 
Soul 

VI.— To Love Him With All My 
Strength . 

VII.— To Worship Him . 

VIII.— To Give Him Thanks . 

IX. — To Put My Whole Trust in 
Him .... 

X.— To Call Upon Him 



43 

5i 
59 

67 

75 



XL— To Honor His Holy Name 

and His Word . . .83 

XII — To Serve Him Truly All 

the Days of Life . .91 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 
TO BELIEVE IN HIM. 



MY FIRST DUTY. 
I. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
BELIEVE IN HIM. 

" He that cometh to God must believe 
that he is." — Heb. xi. 6. 

The expression " believing in 
God" may mean simply believ- 
ing that there is a God ; or it 
may mean trusting him to do 
what is best for us in this world, 
and to bring us, for the sake of 
his blessed Son, to the home 
which he has prepared for *us 
above. We will consider that 
the words have the former mean- 
ing when we study our " duty 
toward God ;" first,, because be- 
lieving that there is a God is 
necessary if we wish to do our 

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duty to him ; and, secondly, be- 
cause, a little farther along in 
this answer, we come to the 
words, " To put my whole trust 
in him," which will give us an 
opportunity to consider what 
trust is. 

You who read this little book 
probably believe that there is a 
God. Otherwise you would 
hardly take the trouble to read 
it. You believe in God, I sup- 
pose, because you have been 
taught about him by your moth- 
er, or your clergyman, or your 
Sunday - school teacher. You 
may know that he has answered 
the prayers of some of your 
friends or acquaintances ; or 
you may have seen some one 
who has been very wicked sud- 
denly leave his sinful ways and 
become a different person, and 
you are told that this wonderful 
change has come about because 
he gave himself to God, and by 
the Holy Spirit, which is the 



flfcg 3first 5>^ts 



gift of God. he was able to lead 
a new life, which he could not 
have done in his own strength. 
Or perhaps you have thought 
sometimes about God, and notic- 
ing all the wonderful things 
around us — the flowers, the 
birds, the stars, and the other nu- 
merous objects — you have made 
up your mind that some One 
more powerful and wiser than 
any man you ever saw must have 
created them. But I hope that 
you have a better reason than 
these for believing in God. 1 
hope you know him ; that when 
you read your Bible, you feel 
that it is a message from him ; 
that when you pray, you are 
conscious that he is listening to 
you, and often when you are 
tempted to do wrong, that you 
feel that it is only by his grace 
and by his power that you are 
able to do right. 

We are taught in the Bible, as 
well as in the Catechism, that we 



/I&2 tftrst 2>utE 



are to believe in God the Father, 
God the Son, and God the Holy 
Ghost ; and yet that there is but 
one God. This is not easy to 
understand ; but, after all, we are 
not asked to understand it, only 
to believe it. We can and ought 
to know, however, that it is true 
that God the Father is our Heav- 
enly Father, and that he sent 
his Son to save us from sin, and 
that he is giving us his Holy 
Spirit to help us to do right. 

If we really believed, as the 
Catechism says, that God the 
Father made us and all the 
world, would we be so ready to 
complain when our life does not 
suit us, when things seem to go 
wrong ? Surely not if we remem- 
bered that our Father planned it 
for us ; or if we realized that 
God the Son died on the cross 
to redeem us and all mankind, 
could, we be so careless as we 
often are ? could we think only 
of pleasing ourselves and give so 

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little thought to pleasing him ? 
Or if we kept always before us 
the thought of the Holy Spirit, 
who sanctiiieth us and all the 
people of God, would we so 
often be discouraged and ready 
to give up trying to be good as 
we are now ? Let us think over 
these solemn questions, and ask 
ourselves earnestly, " Do I real- 
ly believe in God ?" 

COLLECT. 

Almighty and everliving God, 
who, for the greater confirmation 
of the faith, didst suffer thy holy 
Apostle Thomas to be doubtful 
in thy Son's resurrection ; Grant 
us so perfectly, and without all 
doubt, to believe in thy Son 
Jesus Christ, that our faith in thy 
sight may never be reproved. 
Hear us. O Lord, through the 
same Jesus Christ, to whom, 
with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
be all honor and glory, now and 
for evermore. Amen. 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 
TO FEAR HIM. 



II. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
FEAR HIM. 

" The fear of the Lord is the beginning 
of wisdom." — Ps. cxi. 10. 

" The fear of the Lord is to hate evil." 
— Prov. viii. 18. 



It is sometimes hard to under- 
stand why, when the Bible is full 
of verses about our Heavenly 
Father's love to us, we should 
find so many other verses telling 
us that it is our duty to fear him. 
The true explanation is that the 
fear of the Lord really means the 
fear of offending him ; and this 
is not only the fear of punish- 
ment if we do wrong, but a 
diead of grieving him ; a shrink- 
ing from doing anything that 
would displease him ; a fear of 



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sin because it is sin, not simply 
because it may be followed by 
punishment. This fear of the 
Lord, then, will grow in our 
hearts just as our love for him 
grows. Have you never felt it 
harder to bear a reproof from 
your father or mother than from 
some stranger whom you did not 
care for ? So it is with those 
who love God, they dread offend- 
ing him. 

We find in the Bible that the 
greatest saints, those early Chris- 
tians who gave up all they had 
for Christ's sake, walked " in the 
fear of the Lord and in the com- 
fort of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 
ix. 31). We also read in the one 
hundred and thirtieth Psalm, 
" There is forgiveness with thee, 
therefore shalt thou be feared." 
Not because God is just and pun- 
ishes sinners, but because he is 
merciful and forgives them, 
should we cherish this holy fear. 

How many of us are guided, 






dfo\? tfirst 2>ut£ 



first of all, by the fear of the 
Lord ! Do we really make all 
our plans and rule all our acts by 
God's law ? Do we always put 
his will first and feel that the 
worst thing that could happen 
to us would be to fail in fulfilling 
that will ? Do we realize what 
a small thing the blame of our 
friends is compared with God's 
disapproval ? These are solemn 
questions for us to think over if 
we wish to do this part of our 
duty toward God. 

And now let us turn for a mo- 
ment from these verses about 
fear to those that begin with 
' ' Fear not. ' ' There are so many 
that it would be impossible to 
give them all here. There are 
a number in the Old Testament 
assuring us that God's people 
need fear no evil, because he is 
protecting them, or, as a beau- 
tiful old hymn says : 

" Fear him, ye saints, and you will then 
Have nothing else to fear. ' ' 



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The Gospel message which the 
angel brought to the shepherds 
began with " Fear not." " Be- 
hold," he said, "I bring you 
glad tidings of great joy," and it 
is just that message, those glad 
tidings which can take away all 
our fear of the anger of God and 
fill our hearts with the fear which 
comes from love, and which 
makes us day by day more anx- 
ious to please God and to be like 
him. 

Let us pray that this fear mav 
rule our thoughts, words and 
deeds ; so that when God's angel 
comes to call us home he may 
say to us, as was said once to the 
Virgin Mary, " Fear not ; for 
thou hast found favor with 
God." 

COLLECT. 

O Lord, who never failest to 
help and govern those whom 
thou dost bring up in thy stead- 
fast fear and love ; Keep us, we 

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beseech thee, under the protec- 
tion of thy good providence, and 
make us to have a perpetual fear 
and love of thy holy Name ; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 



III. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO LOVE HIM WITH 

ALL MY HEART. 



III. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART. 

" We love him, because he first loved 
us." — i John iv. 19. 



It would be very hard to de- 
fine and describe satisfactorily 
the different ways of loving God 
which are mentioned in the an- 
swer we are considering. The 
first one is expressed by a phrase 
in common use. We often say 
that we love some friend with 
all our heart. It is not easy to 
describe or reason about that 
love. It is something which 
must be felt to be understood. 
We all know people whom we 
love because they are lovable, 
and others who are just as good 
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do nojt arouse the same feeling 
of affection in us. 

A little child loves his father, 
not because he is good or wise, 
or even because he does so much 
for his children ; for the child 
generally shows his love for his 
father before he is old enough 
to understand what his father is 
or how much he does for him. 
But he knows, though perhaps 
he could not tell us how he 
knows it, that his father loves 
him. We can learn a great deal 
in regard to the Christian life by 
watching little children, and par- 
ticularly their love and trust in 
their parents. We have heard 
ever since we can remember how 
much God loves us, how he 
watches over us and protects us, 
and plans our life as will be best 
for us in the end, though we may 
not see it now. And above all 
he has proved that he loves us 
by giving his dear Son to die 
for us, to save us from sin and 



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eternal death. Did you ever 
think that this blessed gift of 
God was the only thing which 
could have cost him anything ? 
If our salvation could have been 
purchased with money or any- 
thing of the kind, how easily God 
could have provided it ! If the 
blood of animals could really 
wash away our sins, by one word 
he could have created as many 
as were necessary, and that 
without one moment's pain or 
anxiety. But no ; nothing would 
do the work but, first, the per- 
fect life on earth of the Son of 
God, who was made man, and, 
then, his perfect sacrifice on the 
cross. Could our parents be 
willing to let us go away from 
them if they knew that such 
things were going to happen to 
us ? And yet the Divine Father 
loved his blessed Son more than 
our parents love us, because his 
heart is larger. How much it 
must have cost him to send that 



/ft 2 fftrst 2>ut£ 



Son to earth, knowing what the 
end would be ! When we think of 
all this, is it not strange that we do 
not love God more than we do ? 
Many of us have had sorrow 
to bear, just because we loved 
some earthly friend so dearly. 
Perhaps we have stood over a 
grave and have felt as if we 
could never be happy again — at 
least while we were separated 
from the one whose precious 
body had been laid there. Or 
what is often sadder, we may 
have found out that some one 
whom we loved very much did 
not love us at all ; perhaps was 
even deceiving us. There are 
few trials harder to bear than a 
disappointment of that kind. 
Then what a comfort it is to 
know that the greatest Love of 
all can never fail us ; our heaven- 
ly Friend can never die ! Surely 
when we think of this, we shall 
not find it hard to love God with 
all our heart. 



dftg 3Fitst 2>utg 



COLLECT. 

O God, who hast prepared for 
those who love thee such good 
things as pass man's understand- 
ing ; Pour into our hearts such 
love toward thee, that we, lov- 
ing thee above all things, may 
obtain thy promises, which ex- 
ceed all that we can desire ; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 



IV. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO LOVE HIM WITH 

ALL MY MIND. 



IV. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY MIND. 

' ' Increasing in the knowledge of God. ' ' 
— Col. i. 10. 



There are times when it is 
well for us to remember that it 
is impossible for us to fully un- 
derstand God. The Bible is full 
of verses telling us that his 
thoughts are not our thoughts 
and that his ways are past finding 
out. So when people say, " T 
cannot believe that a merciful 
God would punish his children ;" 
or, " I would not do that if I 
were God," they forget that it 
is impossible for them to judge 
correctly ol God's actions be- 
cause he is so far above them 



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that they cannot understand him, 
nor see things as he sees them. 

But. while it is not possible to 
understand God entirely, it is 
our duty to find out as much 
about him as we can. If you 
read carefully the prayers which 
St. Paul offers for Christians in 
his Epistles, you will notice how 
often he prays that they may 
grow in knowledge. This knowl- 
edge is a thing which we cannot 
expect to have all at once ; it is 
something which comes by de- 
grees. To go back to our figure 
of the child and the father. The 
child of a very wise man loves 
his father long before he can pos- 
sibly understand all his father's 
thoughts and words. As he 
grows older he learns more and 
more about his father's wisdom, 
and has a great respect for his 
knowledge. It often happens 
that the child never becomes as 
wise and learned as his father. 
Perhaps he has not the same tal- 
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ent ; but he tries to understand 
as much as he can, so that he 
may enjoy being with his father 
and hearing him talk. So if we 
love God with all our hearts we 
shall soon learn — at least, we 
ought to learn — to love him with 
all our minds. 

Then there is another reason 
why we should study about God, 
and that is because he has taken 
the trouble to reveal himself to 
us to a certain extent. He has 
told us a great many things about 
himself in the Bible ; and one of 
the reasons why our Blessed 
Lord came to earth was that we 
might have an idea of God, 
which we could grasp. When 
we talk of Jehovah, God Al- 
mighty, who made heaven and 
earth, we are often more or 
less bewildered. We are unable 
to imagine him. But when we 
think of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
and remember his life here on 
earth, we can then have some 



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idea of what God is. Our Lord 
says, " He that hath seen me 
hath seen the Father," showing 
that He was a revelation of the 
Father. If you have time on 
Sundays or during vacations, for 
a little extra stud}', it would be 
a good thing for you to try to 
find out from the Bible some- 
thing about the character and 
ways of God. Notice what he 
is in himself — just, almighty, 
pure, etc. — and then what he is 
to us— loving, merciful, long-suf- 
fering, and many other things. 

Some people are very much 
afraid of thinking about doc- 
trines, because in the past there 
have been so many discussions 
and even battles about the teach- 
ings of the Bible. So they say 
that they will not trouble them- 
selves about what they shall be- 
lieve, but will simply try to do 
what seems to be right. Is that 
loving God with the mind ? It 
is true that we must not trust to 
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our belief in doctrine to secure 
our salvation here and hereafter, 
but must have a personal knowl- 
edge of God and a purpose to do 
right. Still, in the great mat- 
ters of religion as taught in the 
Creed and the Catechism, it is 
only right that we should try to 
find out what God has really 
told us about them. The Prayer- 
Book is a great help to us in 
understanding the Bible, and it 
may safely be taken for granted 
that what it teaches can be found 
in the Bible ; but we shall be . 
wiser and stronger spiritually if 
we look up those things for our- 
selves. We may sometimes need 
to ask the help of our clergy- 
man or our teacher, because 
they probably have more helps 
in the way of books and of learn- 
ing than we have, and can often 
make a difficult thing plain to 
us. But in any case let us read 
the Bible, and think about it. 
Above all, we should make our- 



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selves familiar with the earthly 
life of our Blessed Lord, and as 
time goes on we shall grow in 
grace and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus' 
Christ. 

COLLECT. 

O Almighty God, whom truly 
to know is everlasting life ; 
Grant us perfectly to know thy 
Son Jesus Christ to be the way, 
the truth, and the life ; that, fol- 
lowing the steps of thy holy 
Apostles, we may steadfastly 
walk in the way that leadeth to 
eternal life ; through the same, 
thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO LOVE HIM WITH 

ALL MY SOUL. 



33 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY SOUL. 

" Be ye therefore followers [R. V., imi- 
tators] of God, as dear children." — Eph. 



As I have said before, it is ex- 
tremely difficult to make distinc- 
tions between these different 
ways of loving God ; above all, 
between loving - with the mind 
and the soul. 1 think, how- 
ever, that the most practical 
way for us to look at it is to con- 
sider that while the love of the 
mind shows itself by trying to 
understand as much as possible 
the object of our affection, the 
love of the soul carries us one 
step farther, and makes us wish 
to be like that object. So if our 

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love to God is real it will make 
us wish to imitate him. We 
often make the mistake of copy- 
ing persons whom we admire. 
As no human being is perfect, 
we may be imitating their faults 
as well as their virtues. So our 
aim should be to grow as much 
like God as we can, remember- 
ing that our Lord Jesus Christ 
has shown us how God would 
have lived the life of a man on 
earth. Therefore we must try 
to copy him in little things as 
well as in great ones. Many 
persons think that they could die 
for the benefit of others, or could 
pardon some very bitter enemy, 
and yet are unwilling to make 
some small sacrifice, and perhaps 
are sulky and jealous about some 
very trifling matter. There is a 
very beautiful story about a little 
girl who was asked how she 
knew that she was a Christian, 
and answered : " Because I am 
trying to do what the Lord Jesus 
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would do, and behave as he 
would behave if he were a little 
girl and lived at our house." 
She had the secret of the Chris- 
tian life in trying- to be like Christ 
in all things, great and small. It 
is very hard to do the right thing 
always— perhaps even harder to 
say the right thing or not to say 
wrong things ; because down in 
the depths of our hearts we do 
not feel right. If we are try- 
ing to be like him our hearts 
must first be right ; then our 
words and actions will be natu- 
rally pleasing to him. How 
many times do you really think 
of the meaning of the response 
which you make after hearing 
each Commandment, " Lord, 
have mercy upon us and incline 
our hearts to keep this law" ? 
And yet that prayer, if it came 
from your heart, would surely 
in time be answered, and your 
greatest difficulty would be les- 
sened. A heart perfectly set to 

37 



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obey God's commandments, a 
will entirely in agreement with 
his will, may never be our por- 
tion here. Some imperfection 
will doubtless remain in us until 
we become like him, by seeing 
him as he is. But we should try 
to cultivate this love of the soul, 
these desires for a higher and 
holier life which we call aspira- 
tions. But aspirations alone will 
be of little use unless they are 
met by the inspirations of the 
Holy Spirit of God. When we 
think of the countless wicked 
and foolish thoughts that pass 
through our hearts every day 
and leave often a lasting impres- 
sion upon them, we might well 
despair, did we not know that 
the Spirit of God is in our hearts ; 
and if we yield ourselves to his 
guidance he will sanctify us and 
make us finally pure in heart and 
fit to see God. 



38 



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COLLECT. 

O God, whose blessed Son was 
manifested that he might de- 
stroy the works of the devil, and 
make us the sons of God, and 
heirs of eternal life ; Grant us, 
we beseech thee, that, having 
this hope, we may purify our- 
selves, even as he is pure ; that 
when he shall appear again with 
power and great glory, we may 
be made like unto him in his eter- 
nal and glorious kingdom ; where 
with thee, O Father, and with 
thee, O Holy Ghost, he liveth 
and reigneth ever, one God, 
world without end. Amen. 



39 



VI. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL 

MY STRENGTH. 



41 



VI. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY 
STRENGTH. 

" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" 
— Acts ix. 6. 



We have been studying the 
different kinds of love, and that 
study would not be complete un- 
less we considered the way in 
which love shows itself by action. 
If we are fond of any earthly 
friends we wish to give them 
pleasure ; to spare them sorrow ; 
to work for them in any way 
that is possible. Sometimes we 
do really work for those who are 
nearest and dearest to us, earn- 
ing something toward their sup- 
port, or doing some hard, un- 

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pleasant task that they may nave 
time to enjoy some pleasure. 
Even if we are not called upon 
to help them in these ways, we , 
still find other opportunities for 
showing our love in little things 
as well as in great ones. 

When we come to think about 
showing our love to God by our 
actions, we probably all remem- 
ber having heard, over and over 
again, that all our duties should 
be done for him. This is such 
an important truth that we must 
spend a little time in consideting 
it now, even if it is not a new 
thought. St. Paul says, " What- 
soever ye do, in word or in deed, 
do all in the name of the Lord 
Jesus." If we really kept this 
commandment, how different our 
lives would be ! Let us think of 
all the foolish and idle words 
which we speak every day ; 
some of them, perhaps, not actu- 
ally wrong, and yet not worthy 
of being said in the name of the 



/libs first But£ 



Lord Jesus. And how many of 
our remarks, which we think 
clever or funny, are not quite 
right for a Christian to make. 
That jest which made every one 
laugh, was not reverent ; or 
that speech which your friends 
thought so smart, was just a lit- 
tle unkind ; we can surely re- 
member such careless words that 
may have done a great deal of 
harm. 

Then, how much more impor- 
tant every act seems, if we do it 
for God ! A quaint old poet has 
written : 

' ' Who sweeps a room as for thy laws, 
Makes that and the action fine." 

— George Herbert. 

Just imagine yourself sweeping 
a room for God ! How carefully 
you would do it, taking all the 
time that was needed to be thor- 
ough ! Nothing would be slight- 
ed or overlooked ; no corners or 
dark places would be passed over 

45 



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because they did not show ; and 
if any lost property were found, 
there would be no question about 
restoring it to the owner, no mat- 
ter how trifling its value might 
be. If you think a moment you 
can reason in the same way about 
your own daily employment ; 
whether it is standing behind a 
counter, or working at a type- 
writer or sewing-machine, or in 
a factory. In every case we are 
told: 

" The trivial round, the common task 
Will furnish all we ought to ask ; 
Room to deny ourselves, a road 
To bring us daily nearer God." 

And yet if we really love God 
with all our strength, we shall 
not be satisfied with simply using 
the opportunities that come to 
us ; but we will try to find 
others. One great object of our 
lives will be to advance God's 
kingdom in every way that we 
can. Perhaps it will be by ask- 
ing our friends to go to Church 
4 6 



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or to Sunday-school with us ; 
perhaps we may be able to say 
something to them that will help 
them in their Christian life. Or 
we may deny ourselves some lit- 
tle pleasure and save a small sum 
to spend on spreading the Gos- 
pel in heathen countries. And 
we must also remember that kind 
acts and deeds of mercy are 
done to Christ, even if they do 
not seem to have anything to do 
with the souls of those whom we 
help. A little time spent in sew- 
ing for some neighbor who has 
more than she can do, or in tak- 
ing care of a sick person, or in 
looking after a baby, so that the 
baby's mother may have time for 
other duties, is all work for God, 
and in due time will bring its re- 
ward ; perhaps in this world, 
and surely in that great day 
when we shall see our Blessed 
Lord face to face, and hear him 
say, " Inasmuch as ye have done 
it unto one of the least of these 



/IlbS ffirst 5>ut£ 



my brethren, ye have done it 
unto me." 

COLLECT. 

Stir up, we beseech thee, O 
Lord, the wills of thy faithful peo- 
ple ; that they, plenteously bring- 
ing forth the fruit of good woi ks, 
may by thee be plenteously re- 
warded ; through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 



48 



VII. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 
TO WORSHIP HIM. 



49 



VII. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
WORSHIP HIM. 

' ' O worship the Lord in the beauty of 
holiness."— Ps. xcvi. 9. 



We are all apt to forget that it 
is a duty to worship God, All 
who profess to be Christians 
know that they ought to pray ; 
but very often they think that 
prayer means simply asking God 
for what they wish, and they 
overlook the duty of praising 
God and offering him spiritual 
sacrifices. 

In the same way, we fail to 
see the true meaning of going to 
Church. We talk about going 
to hear a certain clergyman 
preach ! Perhaps we sa3 T that 



/Ifcg ffirst 2>utg 



some other clergyman does not 
do us any good ; therefore we 
will stay at home, forgetting that 
the very first and most important 
object of church- going is wor- 
ship. This is not the fault of the 
service. The Prayer-Book shows 
very plainly how we ought to 
look at it. You will remember 
that when we use the full service 
of Morning or Evening Prayer, 
we begin by confessing our sins, 
and listening to the assurance of 
God's readiness to pardon. This 
is placed first in the service, be- 
cause we must have all our sins, 
imperfections and unworthiness 
forgiven before we can offer ac- 
ceptable worship to God. After 
the Confession come the Chants, 
Psalms and Lessons, before we 
begin to ask for anything for our- 
selves. If we think of it, we 
shall see how reasonable this ar- 
rangement is, because the great 
lesson, which the Christian i elig- 
ion teaches us, is unselfishness. 



dft2 first S)ut£ 



Therefore when we come to 
God, we should think of some- 
thing besides getting as much 
out of him as possible. What 
higher aim could we have than 
to " worthily magnify his holy 
Name" ? 

The Holy Communion is also 
an act of worship. We some- 
times think of it as something 
meant to make an impression on 
us, and to remind us of the death of 
Christ, or as a means of strength- 
ening and refreshing our souls, 
as the Catechism puts it. All 
this is true, and ought to be borne 
in mind ; but there is still an- 
other view of it, which is that it 
is a service of praise, according 
with the meaning of that beauti- 
ful word Eucharist. Sometimes 
we are disappointed when we 
have received the Communion, 
because we are not conscious of 
obtaining any blessing. We do 
not feel stronger and better. In 
that case, Ave should remember 



dfcg ffirst 2>ut£ 



not only that we may have re- 
ceived a blessing without per- 
ceiving it at the time, but also 
that we have been taking part in 
the one great act of worship 
which Christ himself appointed. 
Prayer, praise, the study of the 
Old Testament and preaching 
were well known before Christ 
came. Baptism also was some- 
times practised, though not with 
the same meaning as now attaches 
to it. But the Holy Commun- 
ion, though instituted at the 
Passover supper, was after that 
to be something belonging to the 
Christian Church only. There- 
fore it ought to be especially 
precious to us. 

I have called worship a spir- 
itual sacrifice, as St. Paul does 
more than once in his Epistles. 
That expression will remind you 
of the sacrifices of the Jews in 
the Old Testament times, which 
have their spiritual lessons for us 
now. Many persons seem to 

54 



tfftE tfirst 2>ut£ 



think that those sacrifices were 
all offered to take away the sins 
of the people who presented 
them. This is a great mistake. 
There were sin-offerings, repre- 
senting the great sacrifice on 
Calvary, which was finished once 
for all, and need never be re- 
peated. There were also burnt- 
offerings and peace-offerings. 
The first represented a life given 
up to God's service, which was 
perfectly exemplified in our 
Lord's life on earth, and may be 
more or less imperfectly exem- 
plified in our own lives. The 
second represented, among other 
things, all gifts and acts of wor- 
ship, which came from grateful 
and loving hearts. You will see, 
if you think, how we can offer 
these sacrifices now. Every 
time we give up our own way 
and take up our great or our lit- 
tle crosses, we are bringing to 
God a much better burnt-offer- 
ing than the Jews could offer. 



/!&£ tfirst SHitg 



And every gift which we give to 
others for Christ's sake ; every 
act of worship to God is a more 
satisfactory peace-offering than 
the lambs or kids that were pre-' 
sented in the tabernacle or in the 
temple. 

Let us, therefore, remember 
that praise and honor rendered 
to God should be a part of our 
daily prayers, and that the most 
acceptable act of worship, in his 
sight, is a will which is in har- 
mony with his will and a life 
which is consecrated to his ser- 
vice. 

COLLECT. 

Almighty God, unto whom 
all hearts are open, all desires 
known, and from whom no 
secrets are hid ; Cleanse the 
thoughts of our hearts by the 
inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, 
that we may perfectly love thee, 
and worthily magnify thy holy 
Name ; through Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 

56 



VIII. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 
TO GIVE HIM THANKS. 



V1IL 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
GIVE HIM THANKS. 

" Who daily loadeth us with benefits." 
— Ps. lxviii. 19. 



We have just been consider- 
ing the duty of worshipping God. 
A very important part 01 that 
duty is praise. Praise and thanks- 
giving are much alike ; and yet 
there is a distinction between 
them. We praise God for what 
he is in himself ; we thank him 
for what he does for us. When 
we look at the stars on a clear 
night and remember that he made 
them all and multitudes which 
we cannot see, and that he has 
fixed a course for each one, so 
that it never interferes with the 
others ; or when we study the 
59 



/Hb2 tftrst SHitg 



plants and see how wonderfully 
they are made, we ought to ex- 
press the feelings that grow out 
of our thoughts in words of 
praise. But if we go farther and' 
remember that he who does all 
these marvellous things loves 
each one of us, and plans bless- 
ings for us every day, and is 
never too busy to arrange the 
little details of our lives, so that 
everything will work for good 
in the end, then our hearts 
should be filled with gratitude, 
and it would be easy for us to 
do this part of our duty toward 
God. 

It may seem to us as if we had 
very little to be thankful for 
when we see how much more 
some one else has. Still, let us 
think about ourselves for a mo- 
ment and see if we have not 
many more good things than we 
deserve. 

In the first place, very few of 
us who read these pages are 
60 



/Iftg tfiret 2>ut£ 



alone in the world. Almost 
every one has some dear friend, 
some one whose love is worth 
having. What a blessing this 
is ' Then most of us have some 
kind of a home ; have clothes 
enough to keep us warm and 
food enough to keep us from 
starving. Most of us have a 
good deal more than this ; but 
even this is something to be thank- 
ful for. What a comfort it is, 
too, to be well ! Perhaps we 
have some little ailment, but on 
the whole we can go about as we 
please and do what other people 
do Our eyesight is a blessing 
for which we might well offer a 
special thanksgiving, when we 
think how easily we might lose 
it, and what a terrible loss it 
would be. It is a great blessing 
to have an ordinarily good mind ; 
to be able to read and under- 
stand the wise thoughts of others, 
even if we have not any great 
talent ourselves. We may well 

61 



/l&E tfirst 2>utg 



be thankful that we live in this 
century, when there are so many 
opportunities to improve our 
minds and to better our condi- 
tion, and that we live in this 
country, where these things are 
within the reach of all. Of 
course, I hope you have a great 
many more mercies to remem- 
ber ; but I have spoken of the 
most common ones, so that no 
one might be left out. 

But even if we are poor, sick, 
desolate, unable to use the ad- 
vantages which others have, we 
still can find causes for thankful- 
ness, when we think of the bless- 
ings which God offers to our 
souls. We may be poor here ; 
but there is a heavenly inherit- 
ance that may easily be ours. 
We may be sick now in our 
body, but God can cleanse and 
heal all diseases of the soul. We 
may be without earthly* friends, 
but we have a loving Heavenly 
Father, a Friend that sticketh 
62 



dfcg tftrst 2>utg 

closer than a brother, an unfailing 
Comfor ter. We may not be able 
to study as we would like. Some 
branch of knowledge that is very 
attractive to us may be forbid- 
den us at present ; but no one 
can hinder us .from taking les- 
sons from him who is meek and 
lowly in heart, and so finding 
rest unto our soul. 

And though death is before us, 
as something that must come 
some day, it is not, or at least it 
ought not to be, something 
strange and terrible. Since our 
Blessed Lord died and was laid 
in the grave, and rose again the 
third day, his children can look 
forward, without trembling, to 
the separation of soul and body, 
and believe that through the 
grave and gate of death they 
may pass to a joyful resurrec- 
tion. 

Are not these great blessings ? 
and is it not our own fault if we 
are not enjoying them ? Surely 
63 



/IRg ffirst 5>utg 



the poorest and saddest among- 
us has cause for thankfulness ! 

COLLECT. 

We beseech thee, O God, give 
us that due sense of all thy mer- 
cies that our hearts may be un- 
feignedly thankful ; and that we 
show forth thy praise, not only 
with our lips, but with our lives, 
by giving up ourselves to thy 
service, and by walking before 
thee in holiness and righteous- 
ness all our days ; through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, to whom, with 
thee and the Holy Ghost, be all 
honor and glory, world without 
end. x\men. 



64 



IX. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO PUT MY WHOLE 

TRUST IN HIM. 



IX. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
PUT MY WHOLE TRUST IN HIM. 

' ' Trust ye in the Lord forever ; for in 
the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength." 
— Isa. xxvi. 4. 



One step leads to another, in 
this answer, as in many other 
things. If we study God's mercies 
to us, in order that we may truly 
and intelligently thank him, we 
shall naturally learn to trust him. 

The first step toward this 
blessed trust is the faith that our 
Lord has really borne our sins 
and made our peace with God. 
Many of us think that we must 
feel in a certain way ; must real- 
ize these blessings before they 
can do us any good. But if we 
honestly believe in the perfect 
67 



/IIb\> tfirst 5>ut£ 



sacrifice of the Son of God, and 
have given our lives into his 
keeping, we ought to trust him 
with our souls ; even if at first 
we do not enjoy the consciousness 
of safety. The New Testament 
is full of verses teaching us that 
we are reconciled to God ; that 
the Lamb of God taketh away 
the sin of the world ; and there 
is the gracious promise, " Him 
that cometh to me 1 will in no 
wise cast out. " Therefore if we 
are sincere in our desire for par- 
don and daily strength, and are 
honestly trying to do his will, 
even though we fail sometimes, 
we ought not to be troubled or 
anxious about the future. Some- 
times God gives his children 
very plain assurances of his ac- 
ceptance of them, and at others, 
he tries their faith by seeming to 
leave them alone. But it only 
seems so. They are never really 
alone. The Lord Jesus is walk- 
ing beside them just as he did by 



/fog tfirst 2>utg 



the two disciples on the evening 
of the first Easter Day, though 
for a time they did not recognize 
him. 

If we are trusting God for par- 
don and for salvation, we can 
well trust him also for the small- 
er matters of our daily life. It 
is worse than a waste of time, it 
is a want of faith to worry, 
whether about our food, clothes, 
rent, or anything of that kind, or 
about the temptations that are 
sure to come to us. Our Heav- 
enly Father knows all our 
needs, and with regard to the 
things of this world, he is sure 
to give us just what is best for 
us ; and with regard to the needs 
of the soul, he will work in us 
his own good pleasure. If we 
are in earnest in our wish to be 
as like him as we possibly can, 
we may comfort ourselves with 
the words of St. Paul : " This is 
the will of God, even your sanc- 
tification. ' ' You know that sanc- 

6q 



my ffirst Butg 



tification means holiness ; and if 
it is God's will that we should 
be holy, nothing- but our will can 
hinder it. Then let us not be 
discouraged because we are weak 
and fall far short of what we 
wish to be. The grace of God 
is stronger than the sinful ten- 
dencies of our nature, if we will 
only give ourselves up to him. 
Indeed, the more we feel our 
weakness the better it is for us ; 
for then we are more ready to 
look to him for strength. 

If we have learned to trust 
him for pardon and for strength, 
it will not be hard to trust him 
when the last great change 
comes. Those who have had 
Christ with them all their lives 
may be sure that he will not for 
sake them in that step into an- 
other life which we call Death. 
Many of us will doubtless be 
taken away when the time comes, 
without any knowledge of what 
is happening to us ; and many 
70 



dfeE first 2>ut£ 



others will be too weak and lan- 
guid to think clearly about it. 
But even for those who are called 
upon to look Death in the face, 
to realize that their days or 
hours on earth are numbered, 
there is no cause of fear ; for the 
Good Shepherd, who laid down 
his life for us, will be near us to 
comfort us with his rod and staff 
and to bring us safely into his 
eternal kingdom. 

COLLECT. 

Grant, we beseech thee, merci- 
ful Lord, to thy faithful people,, 
pardon and peace, that they may 
be cleansed from all their sins, 
and serve thee with a quiet mind ; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 
TO CALL UPON HIM. 



MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
CALL UPON HIM. 

" In everything by prayer and suppli- 
cation with thanksgiving, let your re- 
quests be made known unto God." — Phil, 
iv. 6 

The next step after putting 
our trust in God naturally is to 
call upon him. We hear so much 
of his willingness to listen to our 
prayers, that it must be our own 
fault if we cannot tell of answers 
to them. Not that every pray- 
er is answered just as we wish ; 
but God does not disregard our 
wishes, and in many ways our 
prayers are answered, though 
at the moment we do not see it. 

I am taking prayer, now, in 
its narrowest sense— that merely 



.fllbg first 2>ut\? 



of asking. We have considered 
it as an act of worship when we 
studied the phrases " to worship 
him" and " to give him thanks." 
We cannot remind ourselves too 
often that God loves to give. 
He has given us one gift so won- 
derful, so glorious, and so pre- 
cious to himself — 1 mean the gift 
of his dear Son — that Ave ought 
never to question that he is will- 
ing to give us the things that we 
wish, though they must often 
seem to him to be very small in- 
deed. Therefore it is only a sim- 
ple conclusion for us to reach, 
that if he denies us anything that 
we ask for, he must have some 
good reason for doing so. We 
cannot understand all his rea- 
sons ; but there are two which 
are always possible. Perhaps 
what we asked for would in 
some way harm us ; or perhaps, 
in order to give us pleasure, 
some one else would have to 
suffer. You can easily see that 
76 



/HbE tfirst 5)ut^ 



these reasons are good ones for 
not granting our requests. 

But there are some things for 
which we may ask with the as- 
surance that sooner or later they 
will be granted— namely, good 
gifts for the soul. If there is 
any fault which we wish to over- 
come, any virtue that we wish 
to cultivate, make it a subject of 
prayer ; and some day those 
prayers will be answered. Not 
perhaps immediately ; for all 
spiritual growth is slow, and 
God sometimes tries our faith by 
making us wait a little for our 
answers. And it sometimes hap- 
pens that our faults train us in 
some other virtues. A quick- 
tempered boy, who is really sorry 
when he gets into a passion, is 
learning to be humble, which is 
one of the hardest of the many 
lessons that are given us to learn. 
A girl who has to struggle very 
hard to be perfectly truthful, and 
sometimes fails, learns to be gen- 

77 



/Ifcg first 2>utg 



tie and charitable in her judg- 
ment of others. So it is 'well to 
trust God for our spiritual needs, 
praying steadily, even if we often 
seem to make no progress. And 
one prayer is always safe and 
satisfying— the prayer for an 
abundant measure of the Holy 
Spirit. If he has his abode in 
our hearts, and those hearts 
are attentive to his hints and 
warnings, all other graces will 
flourish, though we ourselves 
may not realize it ; for as we 
grow better, we shall also grow 
more quick to notice the sin 
which will still cling to us, yet 
others will see and know that we 
are the temples of the Holy 
Ghost. 

One word more. It is a nar- 
row view to take of prayer, to 
think of it as merely asking for 
things. It is a still narrower 
view to look upon it as asking 
only for something for ourselves. 
7S 



/Iftg dftrst 2>ut£ 



How many there are for whom 
we ought to pray ! Our own 
family ; our school friends or fel- 
low-workers ; our teachers and 
pastors ; the mission work of the 
Church ; all efforts that are 
being made to help others, need 
our prayers, and no one can tell 
what those prayers may do. It 
would be well not to leave this 
duty to chance ; but when we have 
a quiet half hour, think it over and, 
if necessary, write down all those 
whom we ought to remember at 
the throne of grace ; some every 
day ; some, perhaps, less fre- 
quently. If we know of the 
needs of our friends, ask that 
those needs may be supplied ; if 
not, ask God to give them what 
is best for them, for he knows 
better than we do. In any case 
it is right to pray with submis- 
sion to his will. Let us leave the 
final decision with him, simply 
expressing our wishes, and in 

79 



/Jlbg first H>utg 



heaven, if not here, we shall find 
that our prayer has done its 
work. 

COLLECT. 

Almighty and everlasting God, 
who art always more ready to 
hear than we to pray, and art 
wont to give more than either 
we desire or deserve ; Pour 
down upon us the abundance of 
thy mercy ; forgiving us those 
things whereof our conscience is 
afraid, and giving us those good 
things which we are not worthy 
to ask, but through the merits 
and mediation of Jesus Christ, 
thy Son, our Lord. Amen. 



XI. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO HONOR HIS HOLY 

NAME AND HIS WORD. 



XI. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
HONOR HIS HOLY NAME AND 
HIS WORD. 

" Them that honor me I will honor." — 
i Sam. ii. 30. 

After thinking and studying 
about God, as we have been 
doing, we are inclined to won- 
der why any one fails to honor 
him. Surely when we think of 
all he does for us, it is very 
strange that we do not make 
more effort to pay him the re- 
spect and honor which are due 
to him. And yet even those 
who call themselves Christians 
often fail in this respect. For 
example, how many utterly for- 
get that everything which they 
have comes from him. They 
S3 



/Ifog ffirst 2>ut£ 



pride themselves on having al- 
ways earned their own living, 
and perhaps look down a little 
on some neighbor who has had 
to take help from others. And 
yet it is through God's mercy 
that they have had health and 
strength to work, and have had 
a chance to do so. Sometimes 
God gives us some special tal- 
ent, an ear for music or an eye 
for drawing, or perhaps quick- 
ness at languages or arithmetic. 
Many times we act as if this tal- 
ent was something which we had 
obtained ourselves, and fancy 
that we ought to be praised for 
it. Yet we are told, over and 
over again in the Bible, that not 
only money (though that is 
spoken of specially) but all good 
things are given us by God, and 
the praise for them should be 
given to him. 

We all know that it is wicked 
to swear, to take God's Name 
in vain, and would probably be 

34 



/Ifog tfirst 5>ut£ 



shocked if any of our companions* 
did such a thing. But reflect for 
a moment how often we use the 
most Holy Name without think- 
ing of what we are saying. Can 
we declare that every time we 
say the Creed, we mean every 
word of it ? Yet the most sol- 
emn truths that have been re- 
vealed to us are set forth in the 
Creed. It is even worse to re- 
peat prayers without thinking of 
what we are saying. Have we 
not all been guilty of this very 
thing ? Most of us, I fear, have 
gone a step farther, and have used 
holy words in jest. Are we sure 
that we have never made fun of 
a Bible verse or a hymn ? Some- 
times an irreverent jest will make 
such an impression that it will 
never be forgotten ; then the one 
who utters it, in addition to the 
sin against God, does an unkind 
thing to those who hear him, 
perhaps by spoiling a favorite 
hymn or text for them. 
85 



dfo£ tffrst 2>ut£ 



We often fail to honor God's 
Name and Word by talking too 
carelessly and rashly about relig-' 
ious subjects. This is often done 
by very young people, who have 
become deeply interested in some 
discussion. They talk about the 
most solemn mysteries of God's 
revelation to men in a most care- 
less manner— just as they might 
chatter about some every-day 
matter. They do not mean to 
do wrong. This habit often 
springs from the deepest inter- 
est in the subject ; but it is never- 
theless irreverent and hurtful to 
those who talk as well as to those 
who listen. We are often car- 
ried away by what is called 
party-spirit, and condemn, in a 
most flippant and careless way, 
something which belongs to the 
opposite party, without realizing 
that in itself it may mean some- 
thing very solemn. For in- 
stance, Protestants, as a rule, do 
not place crucifixes in their 
86 



/Ifcg fftrst S>ut£ 



churches, and many have been 
taught that it is wrong to bow 
down to one. But if we remem- 
ber what the crucifix represents ; 
how it is a token of the great 
Sacrifice on which alone our 
hopes of eternal life depend, we 
shall not mock at it and laugh 
about it, or make a plaything of 
it, even though in our mind it is 
associated with wrong teaching 
and wrong practices. 

Reverence is a virtue which is 
sadly lacking in these days and 
in this country, where we hear 
continually that one person is as 
good as another. If we do not 
reverence virtue in our fellow- 
men we shall soon lose all desire 
to cultivate it in ourselves ; and 
if we do not reverence Almighty 
God, our Heavenly Father, we 
shall have no one to look up to, 
no pattern to copy, and shall be 
content with few aspirations and 
very little religion. 



87 



d&E dftrst 2>ut£ 



COLLECT. 

Almighty God, who showest 
to them who are in error the 
light of thy truth, to the intent 
that they may return into the 
way of righteousness ; Grant 
unto all those who are admitted 
into the fellowship of Christ's 
Religion, that they may avoid 
all those things that are contrary 
to their profession, and follow 
all such things as are agreeable 
to the same ; through our Lord 
Jesus Christ Amen. 



88 



XII. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS 

TO SERVE HIM TRULY 

ALL THE DAYS OF 

MY LIFE. 



39 



XII. 

MY DUTY TOWARD GOD IS TO 
SERVE HIM TRULY ALL THE 
DAYS OF MY LIFE. 

" If the servant shall plainly say, I love 
my master, ... I will not go out free, 
... he shall serve him forever." — Ex. 
xxi. 5, 6. 



We have been thinking all this 
time of our duty toward God. 
But now that we have come to 
this last clause, I feel like chang- 
ing the word and saying, " My 
privilege is to serve him truly 
all the days of mv life." For, 
after all, we must serve some 
one. Some are really servants 
of sin and of Satan ; others ser- 
vants of the world ; and every 
one of us is trying to some ex- 
91 



/IRE #ir6t But£ 



tent to serve himself. It is hard 
for young people to believe it, 
but all these masters are tyrants. 
Self, the world and the devil 
make us slaves, if we try to serve 
them ; but God's service is per- 
fect freedom, or, as the original 
Latin of the collect for peace ex- 
presses it, "to serve him is to 
reign." 

Let us look at some of the ad- 
vantages of serving God. First, 
his cause is always the right one. 
We are not wasting our time and 
strength if we are honestly try- 
ing to do his will ; for no matter 
what difficulties and discourage- 
ments we may meet, he is sure 
to triumph at last, whether in 
the world at large or in our own 
sinful but aspiring hearts. 

Secondly, his service is per- 
manent. " He shall serve him 
forever," our text from Exodus 
says. This thought will be worth 
a great deal to those who are 
working for their living. They 
92 



dfcE afirst 2>ut£ 



know what it is to feel uncertain 
as to how long they can keep a 
good place which they have man- 
aged to find, they can appreciate 
the good fortune of any one who 
has a position for life. The 
world is apt to drop us as we 
grow older or poorer. What we 
call the pleasures of sin (for sin 
does bring a passing pleasure) 
are not lasting. Pleasing self be 
comes very stupid and tiresome 
after a while, and how often we 
hear of those who have given 
themselves up entirely to the ser- 
vice of some one person, some 
beloved friend, being left deso- 
late, or perhaps cruelly disap- 
pointed in the affection for which 
they sacrificed everything ; but 
there is no fear of change in our 
Heavenly Master, we can always 
depend on him. 

We might say a great deal 
about his care for his servants — 
the tenderness and wisdom with 
which he* plans for their best in- 

93 



/HbE tfirst 2>ut£ 



terests, the help which he gives 
them in their work from time to 
time, and the forbearance which 
he shows toward their mistakes. 
How fortunate we should think 
ourselves if we had an earthly 
employer who exercised one 
tenth of the consideration tow- 
ard us that God does ! But I 
will mention only one thing- more 
connected with his service : that 
is the certainty and abundance 
of our reward. That reward is 
twofold : the peace and happi- 
ness which spring out of our ser- 
vice while we are working for 
him here, and the unspeakable 
blessings that shall come to us 
hereafter. No pleasure that the 
world can offer us is equal to the 
consciousness which God some- 
times gives us that he is pleased 
with us. No praise of men can 
make us happier than the still 
small voice in our hearts which 
sometimes savs, " Well done, 
good and faithful Servant !" 

94 



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And on the last great day, which 
has no terrors for God's chil- 
dren, we may hear those words 
spoken in the presence of ail 
men and angels, and they will 
be followed by the gracious in- 
vitation, " Enter thou into the 
joy of thy Lord !" What that 
joy is no one can fully know 
now. But he may be sure that 
there will be nothing left to wish 
for, for we shall see our Master 
face to face and enjoy that ' ' Vis- 
ion glorious" throughout all 
eternity. 

COLLECT. 

Almighty and merciful God, 
of whose only gift it cometh that 
thy faithful people do unto thee 
true and laudable service ; 
Grant, we beseech thee, that we 
may so faithfully serve thee in 
this life, that we fail not finally 
to attain thy heavenly promises ; 
through the merits of Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 



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Treatment Date: Nov. 2005 

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